Barclaycard Launches Budget-Aware Contactless Credit Card

Cardholders set up text messages to notify them when they're spending too much.

Barclaycard and Orange have launched a joint contactless credit card that lets customers set spending levels for themselves and either have transactions blocked or receive warning alerts when they hit their budget limits.

We first became aware of Barclaycard's contactless card technology a year ago when we saw and admired the commercial on YouTube, seen above.

The new card announced today will allow customers to set up automated SMS alerts for their card account and to place blocks on their card spend. Customers can set a weekly or monthly budget and set alerts when the budget is reached or chose to automatically decline transactions if they exceed the budget. They will also earn Orange reward points that can be redeemed at certain retail stores.